The Cloud in the Night

by Punk19

Master Vile and his uncle have been fighting a lot and it's making Master Vile's daughter, who just gave birth to her second child and getting over a serious infection afterwards, very annoyed. She heads back to Earth with her children, will Master Vile learn to leave his daughter be or will he continue with his fighting and temper and push her further away from him?

25. Chapter 25

His chores done, all the animals outside having been fed, watered and having had a light layer of straw down in their barns for the night, the weather forecast for the night called for it to be a stuffy one and sheep were known well for overheating. His father hadn't yet gotten to shearing the sheep's wool coats, which really were long and thick and were really needing to be trimmed. Both he and his brother, each time their father sheared the sheep, made sure to watch and help out, their father got fifty dollars per wool fleece and since they had twenty sheep that brought in a good revenue of a thousand dollars, of which both he and Amadh got a share of since they helped hold the sheep down so that their father could shear the coats off quicker. They only sheared the sheep once a year, as of the past five years their father had started keeping a herd off fifty Almas, which were tall animals that grew hair like a sheep but looked more like a Cama and were much more temperamental. Their father had insisted on shearing the Almas on his own for the first two years but after that he and Amadh had helped, their father only trimmed their coats to an inch of their skin, he said that the animal got sunburn easy if he trimmed them fully of their hair. As with the sheep, their father sheared the Almas only once a year.

"And I am glad for that!" their father had said one day at the supper table when Phaggo had asked about shearing the Almas. "Them animals kick something fierce and they spit!"
"Ew, gross!" Blaiga had exclaimed.

"Not at the table, dear." their mother had said.

"Do they bite daddy?" Blaiga had asked.

"So far I haven't been bitten by one, they have only lower teeth." their father had said, he had grown quiet for a few minutes, had taken a bite of Griddled Chicken then had swallowed it before going on. "Which need trimming, they look darn funny if I don't trim their teeth. Get very overgrown and look like they have a overbite."

Efagti walked into his parents house, he had left the door open to let in some of the good old country air, the Silken Chickens never ran into the house. Then chickens made Efagti smile, his mother had insisted on his father getting them for her, she was a bird lover and she happened to be a lover of the Silken Chickens. They were unique, his father did agree on that, instead of feathers they had downy fluff that looked like fur. His mother sometimes sat on the porch brushing the chickens, and strangely enough they just stood on her lap as she did it. As of late, his mother was looking into some of the strange ducks that had been added to the market. These ducks, he had seen one day when his father had taken the new Cadshire Truck from the garage intending to go to town to look into the animals and he had tagged along, were black and had a fluffy appearance, the only part on the animal that wasn't black was the top of the head which was either red or yellow and looked akin to a mohawk. His father was still deciding on them, he was doing his research and asking around. When he walked into his parents house he closed the screen door behind him, he did the same with the inside door, he heard running water upstairs and thought that that was odd. After a few minutes of simply standing by the door, wondering who was home, it suddenly dawned on him that his mother might have come home for a breather, might have even decided to shower in her own bedroom upstairs in her and his father's bedroom chamber. Efagti went to the phone on the glass side table that sat on gold curved, accent legs. He picked it up, it was light purple with a gold strand down the phone's receiver, then he checked the messages.

Pastor Eblafko had called, he was asking if everything was alright as someone in the family had been admitted to the hospital saying that they were family. Efagti wrote that down, he had a feeling that his father would be phoning up members of the family to see if they were alright soon after he told him. The next few messages were from Selvicto's Hospital, from a receptionist who called herself Falamai asking if his father could phone her soon as she had a member of the family in a room in the hospital who was pretty bad off, the last message said that the patient had been released that day and that the hospital needed clearance on the situation. Aunt Clerabia had called, just to see what was up. Uncle Cluebron had called, same thing as Aunt Clerabia. As Efagti wrote all this down the running water upstairs stopped, he figured that his mother was done with her home showering session and would be down shortly, when the water started back up soon after it had stopped he looked up.

"Possibly Blaiga is home as well," he thought. "mom just came home with Blaiga for a change of scenery is all."

Efagti found himself thinking about the new Cadshire Truck his father had bought three years ago, it had been a nice purchase and one of which was paying off well. His father was assured rich for life, he could afford to buy a new car or two... or three or four a year but he didn't. He only bought a new vehicle maybe once every three years. The Cadshire Truck had been bought right off of the show case, his father washed and waxed it twice a week and drove it to town whenever he went, it got people looking. The truck was a nice burgundy color and had a short front, about twenty inches from the windshield, and it had two exhausts in the back. The back was short but it did fine in holding the feed for the chickens, sheep and goats and equines that they had and that engine purred like a kitten. When Tazir had seen it he had stopped short, Efagti had thought that his half-brother would go buy one for himself but he hadn't. His father had said that Tazir wasn't one that bought vehicles that looked like the Cadshire, he was more on vehicles on style. When the water stopped running again he looked back up, he was expecting to hear someone talking but when silence met his ears he grew a bit concerned, and when the water resumed again he felt a pinge of fear which quickly turned to anger. Could someone be in his father's house? Could an intruder of walked in and had decided to take advantage of the showers upstairs? He cursed himself for leaving the door open, even though he lived in a good neighborhood with the nearest neighbor being almost two miles down the road things could happen. Why, the Clorbs almost two miles down had had a horse, cow and almost an entire flock of sheep stolen in the night six months ago and they had also had an intruder walk into their house via the unlocked back door. Efagti went to his father's hunting room, which had the trophies that his father had collected from his kills. A large bear head hung up on the wall, a Schter Antelop's head with horns that stuck out on the sides of the head was hung up beside the bears head. Furs, more heads, three full stuffed Schimter Lions and four rugs of Dlerma's Wolves were on the walls and floor, the rugs for the latter. Efagti went to his father's rifle cabinet, he hoped his father understood because, if there was an intruder then unlocking the cabinet would have taken too long and he had no key. He elbowed the glass out of the front of the cabinet that grabbed his father's Flintlock Model 12 with two safeties on the back and a steadier attached to the bottom which was folded back. The gun was nicely polished, a burnished copper color with chrome muzzle and barrel, and wasn't very heavy. Efagti slid six shells into the open slot on the side, pulled the safeties back then exited the room. He headed up the stairs to the second room slowly, being careful to not make much noise. The idea of contacting his father about a possible intruder in the house crossed his mind, his father would want to know, but his father would also want the intruder cast out at once, contacting him would take precious time.

"I look ridiculous!" Kat pouted. "I've had to roll the legs of the pants up several times and the same goes for the sleeves on the shirt."

"Kat, hello, we all have." Angel said, she had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing a pair of brown pants and a multi-brown checkered shirt, the pants legs were rolled up as were the ends of the arm sleeves. "Make do with what we have."

"Cheshire..." Kat started to protest.

"I will return these when I see him next." Angel said in annoyance. "Aisha, stop acting like the pants you are wearing have a disease please."

"How are you keeping the pants up?" Aisha asked, she was having a time in keeping Cheshire's worn pair of red and brown striped pants up. "These keep trying to fall down."

"Roll the top in some," Angel said. "then tuck the shirt in."

Aisha did as she was told, Kat was making a fuss over wearing an alien man's clothing but she wasn't, like Angel had said, they had to make do with what they had. Angel had cleaned her shirt the best she could then had torn it in several pieces, she had bathed both of her babies then had wrapped the shirt's remains around them, making a make-shift diaper. Both babies were happy now, they were clean and had fresh diapers of sort. They had showered one after the other, Kat first with Aisha hopping in next quickly, Angel had gone in last, she had guarded the door the entire time that she and Kat had showered. Angel had spent more time in the bathroom as she had not only showered herself, but she had cleaned Bile and Lhaklar in the sink. Aisha, Kat and Angel had emptied all of the contents from the pockets of their old clothing and had put them in the pockets of their new clothing, Angel had slipped her very thick and full wallet into the front pocket of the pair of pants she wore. Kat and Aisha slid their morphers into the front pockets of their pants then had placed their communicators around their wrists. Showering in someone else's house had not appealed to neither of them, but they did feel much better after cleaning up.

"Zordon," Kat said into her communicator. "Zordon, Alpha please come in."

There was a beeping sound then they heard a staticky Alpha respond, what he said was broken up so Kat tried again. Angel asked her to tell him to teleport her, with Bile and Lhaklar, to the Command Center, Kat moved off to the balcony doors and tried again. After a full minute had passed Kat lowered her wrist. She looked down in shame, either they were in a non-communicating pocket in the universe or their communicators, which their friend and the blue ranger, Billy Cranston, had built for them, were not working. When Alpha came almost a minute later she jumped, she near yelled out in surprise then she grabbed her wrist. Angel quickly walked over with Bile and Lhaklar, she stood nearby as her young friend spoke to her mentor.

"Aiyiyiyiyi! Kat, you are very far out, I had to adjust the frequency here just to reach you!" Alpha-5 exclaimed. "Where are you?"

"Alpha, I'm on Zeta Ren in the Zeta Reticuli system." Kat said. "Can you teleport me, Bile and Lhaklar to the Command Center please?"

"Kat, we'll try to teleport you and the two you said of." Zordon's voice came in. "Where is Aisha?"

"Aisha is here, she's staying to help Angel out." Kat said, Angel handed her Bile and Lhaklar then stepped away.

"Trying to teleport now." Alpha said.

Angel and Aisha watched as Kat, at first, faded in and out twice. Angel sighed, she was about to walk over to take her babies when, suddenly, Kat teleported out with a pink effect. With her friend and babies safe, Angel near jumped up and cheered. Aisha patted her on the back then turned her around, it was then that the door to Cheshire and Ashaklar's bedroom chamber swung open and Efagti, holding a weapon that looked like a rifle, rushed in. He fired one shot, which went through the balcony's glass doors, then he stopped, Angel swung her hand at him, intending to knock him back with a gust of air. Nothing came out from her hand, she tried again and was met with the same result. Aisha ducked behind her, she grabbed Cheshire's shirt that was on Angel's back then buried her head against the fabric. Efagti, when he saw that it was Angel in his father's house, lowered the weapon. Angel swung her fists five times then kicked her foot up, intending to send him flying back out of the room, again she was met with nothing.

"Oh fuck me, I'm powerless!" Angel exclaimed.

The fact that she had used what his father called the forbidden word in his parents bedroom chamber near escaped his mind, he had rushed in after hearing talking in his parents bedroom and had fired without thinking, he was glad that his shot had missed her because he'd feel very guilty if he harmed his half-brother's wife. There was another female with Angel, a brown-skinned female with a youthful face, her hair was black and was braided in sections. Efagti took all of this in then he saw their outfits, why in the world would his father's step-niece break into his house to steal old, work day clothing? He placed the Flintlock Model 12 rifle down then stood up, he held his hands out showing that he had nothing in them then he walked forward. Angel swung at air, this he found weird, then he saw her kick her feet up, this he found even weirder. When she had said that she was powerless he had stopped, he'd only heard of a magical being losing their powers once while attending Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic. A being lost their powers when they were badly injured, almost life-threateningly so, since the body was recovering from the injuries made all powers and abilities were put in a dormant state. Angel Irene, he saw, was wearing a wrap of bandages over the left side of her face, they were thick and looked damp. He remembered what his father had told him, that her father had slashed her across the face with his fingernails. Bandages? Powerless? Wearing his father's worn out clothing?

"You was the reason for that receptionist to be calling here," Efagti said. "she and Pastor Eblafko. You was in Selvicto's Hospital recently."

"Smart kid, yes I was." Angel said.

"Who's that behind you?" Efagti asked. "Do you have the babies with you?"

"A friend and they are safe." Angel said. "I'm not letting them get any closer than a ten foot pole of my father."

"Vile's still fighting his injuries that you inflicted on him." Efagti said. "Tazzy won't let him harm Bile or Lhaklar."

"No offense kid, but at the moment my father is a very dangerous man." Angel said, she started walking around the room, the female behind her followed as if like a shadow. "I'm not letting any of you get near my kids with him around."

"Shaam, Tazzy and my father won't let him harm Bile or Lhaklar." Efagti insisted. "Kuruk either, I don't think Duru would let him get near them as well."

"My father can be at any place at any time and can use his powers on anyone." Angel said. "Sorry to say, Youngster, but I won't be coming anywhere near anyone in your camp with my son's in tote. I have two kids to protect, my father's too much of a danger and a worry for me."

"He won't harm them or you." Efagti said, then he added after he saw the bandaging on the left side of her face. "Anymore, that is."

"He's harmed me too many times and he's killed his sister, that's enough for me to worry." Angel said.

Efagti was about to say something when Angel rushed out at him, he tried to grab her but she was much too fast! She went to the side then stuck her foot out, his legs were kicked right out from under him and he fell face first to the floor. The brown-skinned woman, who looked very young, ran behind Angel as she ran from his parents bedroom chamber. He quickly gathered his feet underneath of him and gave chase, they were already going down the stairs when he exited his parents bedroom chamber but he caught up quickly. They had forgone going out the front door, Angel was a smart woman, he had to agree on that as if not, she'd of opened the main door and screen door which would have taken precious time in their attempted escape. He chased them down the hall, they were headed to the back door, he cursed himself greatly for this mistake as he had opened it earlier as well and hadn't closed it when he had walked into the house. Just as they ran out the door he grabbed his communicator, as he charged after them he called his father.

"Pop!" he yelled into his communicator. "Uhhhhh, Sector two F thirty-six, Cheshire Ubalki come in!"

"Efagti, you needn't use the sector commands," his father's voice came through the speaker of the communicator clearly. "What's going on? All chores done?"

"Angel Irene and a young female were in our house, I'm chasing them through the fields." Efagti said. "Dad, Angel's powerless now."

"Keep on their tails, I'm heading in to help you." his father said.

Cheshire had been at a late lunch with his family, TazirVile had just said something about feeling fully himself which he was glad for, when his oldest son had radioed in. Tazir, when he had heard that his wife had been sighted, leaped back from the table, before Cheshire could stop him he teleported to Zeta Ren with a triple golden flash. Cheshire followed quickly behind him as did Amadh. He had no idea why Angel, or this young female she was with, had been in his house and he felt a trifle maddened by the finding. When he and Amadh appeared behind their house they took off, following the Wheat stalks that were moving. Cheshire near ran into TazirVile the second he entered the Wheat field which, down the way about a hundred yards became a field of Sugar Cane. Amadh ran behind him then shot forward, Cheshire saw why. A flash of red was seen and then he saw Efagti soon after. He put on a burst of speed and went past TazirVile and Amadh, he leaped over fallen Wheat then came up beside Efagti, Angel Irene and a brown-skinned female were running a distance from them and... he couldn't believe his eyes but it looked as if they were wearing some of his work clothing that was very worn out!

"Efagti, what did you find out?" Cheshire asked his son.

"She's powerless, we had messages from Pastor Eblafko and a receptionist from Selvicto's Hospital," Efagti replied quickly. "she was in the hospital and obviously, her treatment was added to your bill."

"I don't mind that, she was pretty beat up and would have needed medical treatment." Cheshire said. "I'll eat up the bill."

"The side of her face is bandaged up," Efagti said.

"From her father when he slashed at her face with his fingernails." Cheshire said.

"She won't come near us with the babies because of her father." Efagti said. "She sees it as..."

"A liability." Cheshire said. "I'll be sure to tell Tazzy that."

When Angel and her young female friend reached the Sugar Cane part of the field they grew faster, Cheshire passed by his son and gave chase, TazirVile soon caught up. They ran side by side for a long time before Angel and her friend turned hard right. Angel leaped over a fence that separated the field that had Wheat and Sugar Cane growing in it with a field that was bare. Her young female friend followed right on her heels, when Cheshire volted over the fence he pulled ahead of TazirVile whose burgundy tuxedo jacket's long tail got caught up in the fence he saw that the two women were indeed wearing his worn out, old work clothes. He didn't mind the hospital bill, Angel Irene was ,technically, his step-niece and family and she had needed treatment. He didn't mind her being in his house, they had spoken over the phone from time to time, getting to know each other. He did mind, though, her going through his dresser drawers. He got angry at this for only a full minute before the realization hit him that, along with being badly injured by her father she might have also been walking around with tattered clothing. Okay, he forgave her for rummaging through his drawers for something to wear but the other female, who was she? He had no idea, to him the female looked very young, around mid to late teenage years.

"Contact Zordon and have him teleport you out of here!" Angel yelled.

"No!" Aisha exclaimed.

"Do it now!" Angel yelled.

Aisha was slowing up, she was at her limit and would be caught, she looked behind her and saw the fastly gaining alien man who had one mean face on him. The alien looked experienced, strong and angry and this was what made her swing her wrist up. The alien man, she saw, had dark blue skin and was tall, standing about six-foot three inches. His eyes were almond-shaped and were bronze colored, she couldn't see him fingers but she saw that he had a lot of veins in his hands which were in tight fists, the man looked to be pretty strong, he had a lot of muscle on his chest and arms while the rest of him was slender. She had seen, when she had looked back, that he wore a goggled monocle over his left eye, he was wearing a red and green striped pair of pants, black shoes and a dark red shirt with a light red vest with dark red ties on the front, a black belt was around his middle.

"Zordon!" Aisha yelled when she had her communicator up. "Teleport me please! I'm being chased by a monster!"

"A...sha... teh...por...ng now." Zordon's broken voice came through her communicator. Aisha looked back just as she was enveloped in yellow energy, the alien man had been a foot behind her.

"What the!" Cheshire yelled.

He had been closing in on the brown-skinned female when she had been teleported away, this had surprised him and he had pulled up some, when he had looked to the right and had seen Angel still running he forgot about the female. He veered over in her direction then turned up the heat, at just that moment TazirVile ran up beside him, the ran side by side again for a few feet then TazirVile pulled ahead. It was only for a yard though, TazirVile stepped into a hole and fell down, he yelled for Cheshire to catch his wife then he went silent. Amadh stopped and went to his half-brother, Tazir's ankle looked to be either sprained or broken, he helped him to his feet then turned and went back towards the house, it was now just his older brother, who had ran past a while ago and was behind their father, and his father to catch Angel.

Either she knew how to travel through a dirt field that had been left unplowed and unseeded or she was incredibly smart to know not to run on the bunched up areas of soil that had yet to go back to being even with the rest of the soil. Cheshire had done what many growers did nowadays, with one field he'd grow produce in one season while the one that had been planted the season before would get a break until the next season, it was a genius idea as it let the soil have a chance to recover from the previous season of produce growing. He saw it like a woman giving birth, she had a baby then she waited somewhere around a year to a hundred or so before getting pregnant and having a new baby. As he ran after Angel he also noticed one more thing, being that he was a tall man, standing at six-foot three inches with most of that being in his legs, Angel had had to hike his pants up several times. As he ran after her he compared heights, he was eight inches taller than she was which would put her at five foot seven inches. He had been told that she was an inch shorter by her father. Shows how much he knows, he thought as he put on a burst of speed when Angel again pulled his pant legs up.

Angel was having a time with Cheshire's pants, they had come unraveled at the bottom and were starting to slow her up. She thought that if she had a knife she'd of taken care of that little problem quick but since she didn't she had to make due with what she had available. She continued hiking the pants up then she rolled the top down. Since she had lived for two hundred and forty-one years she knew well enough to not run on the mounds of soil, they were either mounds from seeds being planted or from the harvest that had happened the year before. There was a road nearby so she leaped over a mound then ran to the fence that separated the field from the road, she volted over it like it wasn't there then got down to work in running, Cheshire and Efagti followed behind her when they got to the fence. By looking down at the shadows, she saw that one was gaining. While she ran down the road she saw that she was headed back to Cheshire's house and that a vehicle that looked like a truck, which was burgundy in color and was both short in the front and back with what looked like two exhausted jutting out from the undercarriage in the back, was coming down the driveway that ran up to Cheshire and Ashaklar's house. When Angel looked closer she saw that TazirVile was at the wheel and that Amadh was in the back and... from the looks of it Ashaklar was seated right beside TazirVile. Angel wasted no time, she ran on then when the vehicle and she came in contact it was a slight one. She heard TazirVile yell out then she heard the vehicle being pulled hard to the right, she turned three times, her side hurt her from being hit by the vehicle but it gave her the initiatve to go faster.

"Oh shit, go on Tazzy!" Cheshire yelled as he jumped into the back of his Cadshire truck. "She intended for that to happen!"

"She headed right for the vehicle, pop!" Amadh exclaimed.

"I grazed her, the bumper only hit her side." TazirVile said.

"How's the ankle?" Cheshire asked.

"Sprained, thank the Gods!" TazirVile answered.

Whatever injuries she now had, Cheshire only had to look around the cabby of his truck to see that her being hit by his vehicle had made her go faster. She was really flying, he had no idea she was as fast as she was, he would not have stood a chance to run up and grab her had he of ran after her on foot. His wife handed him a bottle of water from the back window which she had pushed to the side open and he took three good gulps from it, he was a sweated mess but his pulse was normal. TazirVile punched his foot to the floor of the truck and they surged forward, when he was near alongside Angel something happened that Cheshire and Amadh both drop their O-shaped mouths in shock. Cheshire had forgotten fully about Efagti who had been running behind him, when Efagti had ran up beside Angel, making her sandwiched in-between him and the truck, and had placed his hand on Angel's arm on her blind side she turned on him fiercely.

When she had felt the hand land on her she had reacted on instinct, she could see on the left side and that meant that she had to be careful and when the hand had landed on her left arm she had reacted naturally. It was only after she had shoved then punched Efagti five times in succession that she saw that she had attacked an innocent man and when she saw that he had dropped to his side and had near been ran over by the truck that had been so close to her that she grew fearful. She had attacked not only an innocent man, but also the son of Cheshire and Ashaklar. The truck came to a jar-screeching stop and Cheshire leaped out, as did Ashaklar and Amadh, TazirVile got out last, it looked as if she had only caught Efagti off guard, he had skipped his elbows but that was all, he was fine. Angel turned around and headed the way she had intended to go, while she ran she reached up and tore the bandaging from around her face and head. It seemed like forever before she reached the nearest town and when she did she headed straight for the traveling agency which was three stores down. She stopped long enough to get her breath and to straighten Cheshire's clothes before opening the door and going in.

"No way we can catch up, just have to sit and wait now." Cheshire said as he walked into his house. "The Z's will get her now, all they'll have to do is see the marks on her face then they'll give chase. We'll be called after they've done a blood test..."

"How will they contact us pop when we're not related to her?" Amadh asked.

"We're family to her through relation to Tazir, step-family if you want to get technical." Cheshire said. "Through the testing they'll find her in relation to Tazir then they'll call here asking for Ashaklar."

"You should have come up on her right!" Amadh said when Efagti limped in, his knee had been pretty badly skinned.

"Amadh, cool it." Cheshire said. "Take a seat and calm down, in an hour that phone will ring."

"Happened for the Bolalies on Moas last year, it's a very advanced system of finding out who the trespasser or criminal or even someone suspicious is and who to contact to come in to pay for damages and sign the papers for release." TazirVile said as he sat down on the dark gray couch, that had light gray cushions, that was in the shape of an S, his ankle throbbed but he ignored it.

Ashaklar looked at her oldest son then to her second oldest son, both sired by two different men and both who had been raised differently, one raised by an abusive man who thought that acting mean and abusing his son was a way to make him a stronger, better man and the other raised by a more patient, understanding and calmer man. Tazir looked more like her, though, while Efagti looked much like his father. Regardless of the different raisings by their paternals, all of her mature son's had grown up and matured well. Ashaklar looked at Tazir's ankle then at Efagti's knees, his right knee hadn't only been scraped badly, it had a gash going down the middle which was pretty deep. She went to the bathroom for a plastic container and some medication, when she returned she found everyone in the same room as she had left them.

"Alright, Tazzy you remove your shoe and sock then soak that ankle good." Ashaklar said. "Efagti, you sit down and let me tend your knees."

"Yes mother." Efagti said, even with him being over the age of motherly tending his mother still tended to any wounds that he had on his body. Sometimes he hid his cuts and bruises and sometimes, it didn't matter. His mouth was a wound sniffer, she could sniff a wound on the body of one of her children or her husband a mile away. "Pop, did you sign the papers?"

"Already done, Son." Cheshire said. "During lunch all guardianship and leadership papers were signed over. Tazir's back in control again."

"You going to break out in a rash again after messing up on mother's maiden name?" Amadh asked.

"Very funny, Son." Cheshire said, Amadh and Efagti broke out in laughs.

"I'm surprised that Eldass didn't notice him saying Zooplay," Amadh said after he got control of himself. "Zooplay? I don't know any Zooplay, my mother's a Zoopray though."

"Must be related to us." Efagti said, he pulled up when his mother started dabbing an antiseptic to his wounds.

"Eldass did notice, a Goblin doesn't miss out on any details." TazirVile said. "But they got what he was saying."

Amadh and Efagti fell silent, a rarity for Amadh who liked to crack a joke at near every second of every minute of every hour. Efagti thought back to when Angel told him that with her father still around she'd not let herself or her babies come anywhere near them as his mother medicated, stitched him up some then bandaged his wounds. He couldn't but feel a trifle betrayed, his family hadn't done anything to Angel to garter any ill words or meanings. His father had spoken to her on the phone a few times, they seemed a bit friendly in terms although, when he, his father and the rest of his family had shown up at Tazir's mansion on Moas Angel had recoiled back. His father had called it a regression, due to Angel's bad treatment they were all to be slow and careful with her and to also be understanding and patient. After his mother wrapped his knees and wrapped the gash to his leg he leaned back, he had a good mind to tell his father what she had said. He looked at Tazir, who was bent down, rubbing a water oilment to his ankle which was slightly swollen. Tazir would not be happy when he told him what he had been told.

"You still thinking about taking Vile to court?" Efagti asked TazirVile.

"I am yes, why?"

"Angel told me that due to her father being around and in the picture she'd not allow herself or her babies anywhere near us." Efagti said, TazirVile and Cheshire looked at him sharply, he swallowed hard. "I can't help it but feel betrayed by that."

"Thank you for telling me," TazirVile said. "when Vile's a bit better healed and up and walking he and I will be going to court."

"Why not send in the appointment slip now?" Amadh asked. "I mean, do it now instead of later, get it over with."

"Because Vile would be required to be there to plead his case," TazirVile answered his younger half-brother. "it's the rules of the Elder Court, no appointments made unless both parties are available to plead their cases."

"Don't feel betrayed, Son." Cheshire said. "Angel's got her babies protection deep in her heart, she sees her father being near to us as a threat to them."

"We'd not let anything happen to them though." Efagti said. "I know we won't."

"Angel's maternal instincts are strong, she sees Vile as a threat and with him being near and in association with us as also a threat." TazirVile said. "I'll take care of that soon, did you see the babies?"

"No, just that other female." Efagti said. "Who was she?"

"G-..."

The phone, a unique wooden phone with chrome flowery designs, rang. TazirVile looked up quickly while Amadh and Efagti went quiet, Ashaklar looked at her husband who coyly answered the phone as if it was just a typical call. He simply reached over the arm of the couch and picked the phone up, he held the cord with his index finger so that it didn't snag on the couch. The phone was on the other side of the first swirl of the S-shaped couch, it sat on a light brown wooden table that had a single drawer on the front which a notepad that had numbers on it with family members names written alongside, his father was sometimes forgetting of the phone numbers and that was why he had written the numbers down and kept them in the drawer along with a ball-point pen. TazirVile leaned back as Efagti's father spoke on the phone, it was Pastor Eblafko on the other end.

"Yes, everyone here is fine, the member that was taken to the hospital was my step-niece." Cheshire said. "No, she looked right fine, was discharged but not sure when... very red hair and emerald-green eyes... what's that?" Cheshire suddenly sat upright then leaned forward. "There's a girl matching that description where you are at... where are you?... Why in the universe would she be at Bufloko's Traveling Agency?... see if you can keep her the-... oh... well can you see if you can get where she was go-... alright I'll be right over, thank you." Cheshire reached back and hung the phone up, he then turned around then stood up, he stretched tall then turned to his family. "Angel just payed for a traveling device, Pastor Eblafko saw her just now."

"She still at the agency?" TazirVile was reaching for his burgundy shoe and sock.

"No, she just used the device." Cheshire said. "You stay here, I'll be back. They do a track on the device so wherever she goes, we can follow."

"Why isn't she just simply teleporting?" Amadh asked. "Bufloko's Traveling Agency, so weird!"

"Not so, she is powerless so she cannot teleport." Efagti said. "What's the next best option to get to a location? A travel agency of course."

"Angel's a smart woman, always has been and always will be." TazirVile said, the corners of his O-shaped mouth curved up some. "I love that woman to pieces!"

When Amadh's father left the house Amadh was left thinking about Duru and his older half-brother who was back to rubbing his ankle with the water ointment again. Even he didn't like DuruVile Surfeit, he thought that the man was much too hard, strict, stern and that he was plain mean. He had been listening in one day on Duru insulting his half-brother about his tuxedo jacket, he had been going on saying that his half-brother's jacket was too long in the back and was only going to cause trouble meaning trip ups and get tangled up. Amadh, when he had heard his half-brother's father getting on him about his burgundy tuxedo jacket, had gotten right angry and had near gone around to confront the man to mind his own business when Tazir had walked around the ship, his own, his father had been speaking to him in secret, and when Tazir had seen him he had gently turned him around then had given him a shove. Amadh believed in the golden rule, do onto others of what you'd do to yourself and treat others that way you, yourself want to be treated. There were many things he wished Tazir would say to his father, one being for him to clamp his lips shut and mind his own business and two, wear pants that had a zipper on the front. Amadh had no idea how the man did it, with all them buttons arranged in an incomplete square on the groin part of his pants, but for him to wear pants with the buttons arranged like they were looked right funny and surely, it made for a right scratchy situation when the man needed to go to the bathroom. Duru had come up to him one day when he had been firing off the jokes to his younger siblings who had been feeling rather lowly and needed some sort of an upper and had told him to shut his mouth. He had looked at the man, giving him a good sizing up, he had decided against starting a fight on several areas. One; he stood only six feet tall and weighed a hundred and eighty pounds while Duru was six-foot three inches and was two hundred and ten pounds, he was pretty strong. Two; he was an elder, he might be a goof-ball at times be he knew better than to disrespect and elder. Three; well the man was a mean one and he could very well pound him and his six-foot tall, hundred and eighty pound body into mush. He had just held his hands up then had led his two younger siblings away, he had resumed his joking elsewhere in safety. His father and Duru had gotten into a few scraps, one of which he had near joined in on. Duru had walked up, as always looking and acting as if he owned the whole camp, then had started in on his mother who had been tending to Phaggo who had gotten a few thorns in his thigh, Blaiga had been nearby and she had been the reason for his younger brother to have the thorns. Duru had gotten on her for telling Phaggo it was alright and that it'd all be fine here soon. His father, after his mother and started yelling at Duru, telling him to point-blank mind his own business and stay out of hers and after Duru had slapped his mother, had ran in and had opened up a good case of whoop ass, his father had gotten pretty badly beaten himself but boy oh boy did Duru get a good dose as well.

Amadh wondered if there was a time when Duru wasn't such a meanie. Surely, he had times when he wasn't such a bastard and was a bit aloof. His wife had returned back to camp a few days before, she was almost five and a half months pregnant and was starting to show it as well. Duru was relieved that she was fine and that the reason why she was going back and forth from the hospital and the camp was because of a severe case of what they called molding pains, where a woman's body started getting ready for the next eight to nine months of baby carrying. She was still carrying a son, he had gotten the balls up to ask Duru what name he had chosen for his new son and Duru had said it was none of his business to be asking that question and to bug off. He had done so, he had gone and bugged his mother then his father before being calmly, gently and respectfully shoo'd off. Amadh wondered if Duru was happy to be an up and coming father, the man surely didn't act like one, or at least in front of him he didn't. Uncle Cluebron had been ecstatic when he had found out that his wife was pregnant, so much so that he blurted it out when he had been taking the trolley home and Aunt Clerabia's husband had done the same thing, only Pailos had yelled it out while in Dlo's Grain, Feed and Seed in town. As he thought deeply, he figured that the man was happy, he seemed to be talking to his oldest son and father a lot of it and he was dangerously protective of his wife. Duru had set a Deer on fire just for coming out of the woods right where his wife, his mother, Irka and Duru's other daughter's from his other marriages were washing clothing for goodness sakes! Amadh got up from his seat on the S-shaped couch and at just that moment the phone rang.

"Need to quit drinking." he joked when he tripped over his own feet and fell over the long dark wood coffee table. His mother shook her head, he did drink but nothing as thick as his father did. Just as he answered the phone the corners of his O-shaped mouth curved up slightly, although his father did drink the thick stuff he only did it when the occasion called for it, the rest of the time he drank the normal stuff and still, he rarely got drunk and again, he never layed a finger on anyone in a bad manner when he did get drunk. He just plain got hilariously funny. "Ubalki residence, Amadh here."

"Amadh, you get in the Bluir and get your blue bun down here." his father said a bit excitedly. "We're heading on a follow-up trip."

"On my way pop!" Amadh said, he saluted then faked marching while still holding onto the receiver, this made his mother shake her head again, Tazir and Efagti snickered.